I have started a new journey in my creations based on my own toddler who will soon be in Pre-Kindergarten. Eeek! This line of products is dedicated to my work at home with her. So that’s why you see her name on the cover page & the little red headed girl!

So, what are pre-writing skills WITH NO writing tools? These are hand skills practiced to build strength and dexterity [how well we can handle small objects] in our hands. Young children need to build strength in their small muscle hands as well as strength in their forearm that will help provide stability. We need to build strength in the thumb, index and middle fingers as well to be able to do specific skilled movements. Lastly, we want to build strength in the upper body and shoulders to help keep our body steady while working. We need to build all of these things in our young ones before they can start holding a pencil or scissors and work properly.

The next important piece is building sensory information. Young children need to be able to understand what their brain is telling them according to their senses. For example, how we feel or where our hands go when we are doing a task. The brain needs to sense this information to help with muscle control.

There are a variety of activities you can research online to do at home or at school that will allow young children multiple exposures & experiences in building their pre-writing skills WITH NO writing tools. Remember to always model multiple times & allow multiple activity periods. The I Do ~ We Do ~ You Do method works fabulous with young ones for these activities!

So, what are pre-writing skills WITH writing tools? This is when young children are ready to hold pencils, crayons, scissors or other tools. It is generally recommended to start with what I call the “fat, big or large” pencils or crayons. After the scribble stage, young children are ready to start working with lines before forming letters or numbers. Students will do activities that allow them to follow lines of all different forms & sizes. These activities will prepare them for the beginning stages of forming letters and numbers. The early writing stages are:Random Scribbling (Ages 2-3)Controlled Scribbling (Age 3)Mock Writing (Ages 3-4)Writing Letters (Ages 4-5)Writing Words (Ages 5-6)[Zaner-Bloser]

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I am starting my 11th year in Education! I taught in Florida, Georgia, and I am currently in North Carolina. I am a full time Literacy Coach.

I believe in hands on experiences for each subject area. I use the Readers (Daily 5), Writers & Math Workshop Model. This allows students to practice a variety of skills and have multiple opportunites to work in small groups or one on one with the teacher.

I Graduated with honors and awards in 2002 from Central Florida Community College. Graduated with honors and awards in 2004 from Jacksonville University with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education. Graduated with honors and awards in 2007 from University of North Florida with a M.Ed. degreee in Education Leadership. I have also added Reading Specialist to my Certificate.

I am a U.S.M.C. wife with a little girl and 2 loving dogs! I also have a long-term goal of working in a college athletic office!